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Category Archives: World Travel

Colpitts wins travel contracts with Scottish Ballet and Scottish Chamber Orchestra

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The Edinburgh office of the company, which is ultimately owned by US-based Colpitts World Travel Inc, is to provide travel and logistics support for the tours, which span three continents.

The office, which is the corporate-travel firm's European headquarters, will manage all of both organisations' flight and visa requirements.

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In January and February, Scottish Ballet is taking 50 dance and production staff to China and Japan for its production of Krzysztof Pastor's Romeo and Juliet.

The company is then touring six US cities, including Chicago, Houston and Washington DC, in May with its production of A Streetcar Named Desire. This comes after it visits Inverness, Edinburgh and London.

In March, SCO, led by conductor Robin Ticciati, will take about 50 of its members on tour in Germany, Austria and France.

Tammo Schuelke, SCO concerts and projects manager said: "Colpitts understands the high standards and individual-focused service that a chamber orchestra requires when it goes on tour and has consistently delivered for us."

Scottish Ballet is "delighted" to be working again with Colpitts's for next year's tours, according to its company manager John Aitken.

He said: "They understand our many and varied international travel requirements and continually deliver a premium service, which enables us to focus all our energy on our on-stage performances."

The UK and European division of Colpitts was established in 1995, and it has premises in Aberdeen and Munich, Germany, in addition to the headquarters in Melville Street in the Scottish capital. As well as the arts sector it works with the technology, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, finance and energy sectors.

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Colpitts wins travel contracts with Scottish Ballet and Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Why Quito, Ecuador Is a Top Emerging Destination for 2015

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QUITO, ECUADOR--(Marketwired - December 15, 2014) - The future for Quito, Ecuador is looking bright, with over $87 million in hotel investment announced over the next 10 years, being recognized as South America's leading destination by the World Travel Awards for the second consecutive year and, as the hub for all the adventures that await across Ecuador, gaining a reputation as a top location for meetings, sporting events and global conferences.

And then there is the chocolate. Pacari Chocolate, an Ecuadorian organic chocolate brand, based in Quito, took home 14 awards at theInternational Chocolate Awards, the largest number of global awards won by a chocolate producer. Pacari sources directly from small producers and is the only chocolate company in the world working with biodynamic cacao.

It is producers and experiences like Pacari (which offers tastings and tours) which are growing Quito's tourism industry. And Quito is taking its story around the world. At this year's World Travel Mart in London, Quito highlighted its growing tourism industry to travel trade and media. In 2014, over 50 per cent of travelers to Ecuador (1 million from January - September) visited Quito, further positioning it as a hub for the Galapagos, Amazon and Andes. Tourism Quito predicts that at year-end, over 680,000 tourists will have visited, representing a 10 per cent growth rate.

Committed to bringing the world to its city, Quito hosted the tourism industry for the 21st annual World Travel Awards (the "Oscars" of the travel industry) in August, and celebrated its win alongside its new international airport, Mariscal Sucre International Airport, which was chosen as the leading airport in South America.

When the city was named one of the 14 official finalists (from an original 1,200 cities nominated) in the New 7 Wonders Global Contest, Tourism Quito launched a country wide promotional tour, capturing the pride that all Ecuadorians have for their capital city.

Keen to prove its ability to host larger Meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE), in July Quito successfully hosted the Second Continental Congress on Heritage Kitchens.Held every two years with the mission to strengthen the knowledge and commitment to the preservation of regional cuisines around the world, The Continental Congress of Heritage Kitchens brought together 160 historians, anthropologists, chefs and culinary researchers from 14 countries. The congress included lectures, master classes, visits to Quito's famous local markets and regional cooking competitions.

With an ongoing mission to attract tourism investment, in September Quito also hosted the seventh annual South American Hotel & Tourism Conference (SAHIC), which brought together more than 300 industry executives hotel in Latin America, North America and Europe. The mayor of Quito used this opportunity to reinforce his role in promoting tourism and continuing to develop the capital city, ensuring it is a rich and dynamic gateway to the rest of Ecuador. To achieve this, foreign investment is essential.

Positioning itself as an exceptional hub for sports event, Quito also hosted the Tour de las Amricas Golf Tournament and the Adventure World Championship 2014. One hundred and fifty professional golfers from all over the world attended the Latin American edition of the PGA Tour. In November, Quito launched the Huairasinchi Explorer Adventure Racing World Championship, sponsored by Tourism Quito.

This international race attracted over 280 athletes, 70 elite teams from 20 nations, who participated in this extreme competition which covered over 700 kilometers.

In 2015 Quito will host a "250"open tournament for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) -- The international ATP Circuit is composed with 5 types of tournaments 250, 500, 1000, Masters and 4 big opens depending on the amount of prize money to be distributed. On 2015 Quito will take over from Via del Mar (Chile), a destination which has organized this event for 21 years, as the host city for this important tennis tournament.

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Why Quito, Ecuador Is a Top Emerging Destination for 2015

Highs and lows in the Americas – ITB Research Shows

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North American foreign travel increases again after the boom years South American growth declines

The economic situation in the United States and Canada is improving and with it has come a renewed increase in foreign trips in 2014. At the same time the weaker-performing economies of Brazil and Argentina have led to slower growth in tourism in South America. These are the findings of the ITB World Travel Trends Report, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show.

This year the foreign travel markets of North America reported a growth rate of five per cent. People in North America travelled more often than last year and stayed longer at their destinations, with stays of more than four overnights increasing by eight per cent. Accordingly, spending on foreign trips rose significantly, by 19 per cent. At plus six per cent, holiday travel was among the market's driving forces, while the number of business trips rose by only four per cent. As a trend, holidays focused more on individual travel, local destinations and authentic experiences, resulting in high demand for custom travel packages. Despite rising GDPs and lower unemployment the forecast for next year is less positive: in 2015 trips abroad by people in North America will most likely increase by only three per cent.

By contrast, South America was unable to maintain its above-average growth rates of recent years. During the first eight months of 2014 it registered five per cent growth. However, this fell short of the increases between 2009 and 2013 which at times were in double digits. Economic insecurity in South America, particularly in Brazil and Argentina, has led to this decline in the growth rate in foreign travel. At plus three per cent, the IPK Travel Confidence Index also forecasts slower growth in foreign travel for South America in 2015. This marks a continuation of the current trend.

With the FIFA World Cup taking place in Brazil, 2014 was naturally a special year in terms of tourism arrivals in South America. During the first eight months the number of international arrivals rose by seven per cent, considerably more than during the same period last year (+2.5 per cent). People from Argentina, Chile and Colombia travelling to the World Cup accounted for a large part of this figure. During the event South America's largest country welcomed a total of around one million foreign visitors. Holiday spending averaged around 2,000 dollars per trip. 55 per cent of visitors stayed between four and 15 nights and took the opportunity to get to know the country. 78 per cent said they would like to visit it again.

All the findings are based on information from papers held at the World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa, which is sponsored by ITB Berlin. Every year the consultancy IPK International invites more than 50 tourism experts and researchers from around the world to present the latest statistics and trends in international tourism.

Other results of the January to August 2014 trend surveys conducted by IPK as well as the assessments of more than 50 tourism experts from over 20 countries and the core data of the World Travel Monitor will be published exclusively by ITB Berlin. Detailed information will be available in the ITB World Travel Trends Report in early December by clicking here. At the ITB Future Day of the ITB Berlin Convention Rolf Freitag, president of IPK International, will present the findings of the World Travel Monitor for the entire year, as well as the latest forecasts for 2015. The World Travel Monitor is based on the findings of representative interviews carried out with more than 500,000 people in over 60 global travel markets. It has been published regularly for more than 20 years and is recognised as the most widescale continuous survey examining global travel trends.

ITB Berlin 2015 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 4 to 8 March. From the Wednesday to the Friday ITB Berlin is open to trade visitors only. The ITB Berlin Convention is held parallel with the trade fair, from Wednesday to Saturday, 4 to 7 March 2015. It is the world"s largest specialist convention for the industry. More details are available at http://www.itb-convention.com. ITB Berlin is the leading trade fair for the worldwide travel industry. In 2014 a total of 10,147 companies and organisations from 189 countries exhibited their products and services to 174,000 visitors, who included 114,000 trade visitors.

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Highs and lows in the Americas - ITB Research Shows

Pair sign deal to distribute 'world's most comfortable travel pillow'

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Michael Corrigan and David Kellock, who first met when studying mechanical engineering at Strathclyde University and formed the company Trtl to market their sleepscarf, which will now be available in 22 Dixons Travel stores in airports across the UK. The pair are hoping to achieve a turnover well in excess of 1 million in the next year.

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The deal follows hard on the heels of Trtl's deal with Dublin-based TNS distribution. Best known for its success with "Beats By Dre" headphones, TNS distributes in key outlets throughout the UK, Europe and Australia.

The culmination of about 90 prototype try-outs, sleepscarf is comprised of a springy and lightweight plastic discreetly embedded in a scarf-like garment. The product, which retails at around 25 and is available in several colours, has attracted rave reviews on popular ecommerce sites, with fans claiming to have experienced uninterrupted stretches of sleep on long-haul flights in economy class.

Corrigan said of the distribution deal: "This is a huge step for us as a brand as well as in terms of where we want to take this into 2015.

"Our dream is to create a global company that can really make a difference, and working with companies like TNS Distribution and Dixons is creating the foundation to do this."

Although the original 4000 Sleepscarf products were made in Glasgow and Carluke, the company has a consignment of 60,000 being manufactured in China.

The idea for the company came from a week-long business "bootcamp". Corrigan and Kellock needed an idea in order to attend, and were inspired by their recent uncomfortable travel abroad.

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Pair sign deal to distribute 'world's most comfortable travel pillow'

Lennox Dupal, General Manager, Sandals Halcyon St Lucia representing Sandals Grande Antigua – Video

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Lennox Dupal, General Manager, Sandals Halcyon St Lucia representing Sandals Grande Antigua
Lennox Dupal, General Manager, Sandals Halcyon Beach Resort Spa, St Lucia representing Sandals Grande Antigua Resort Spa.

By: World Travel Awards

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Lennox Dupal, General Manager, Sandals Halcyon St Lucia representing Sandals Grande Antigua - Video

Fox World Travel Offers 2015 Badger Bowl Vacation Packages

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OSHKOSH, WI (PRWEB) December 12, 2014

Fox World Travel has announced that they have customizable travel packages available to see the Wisconsin Badgers play in the 2015 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Fox World Travel has partnered with Funjet Vacations to offer their 25th annual Badger Bowl vacation package.

This years Badger Bowl vacation packages can be customized to include roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations, Outback Bowl game tickets, Badger Huddle pre-game tailgate tickets, rental car, and several optional tours. The Badger Huddle and the Outback Bowl game will both be held on Thursday January 1, 2015. Fox World Travel offers a wide range of customizable packages to cater to the unique interests of their clients. Those interested are encouraged to book early in order to ensure availability.

About Fox World Travel: Fox World Travel was founded in 1960 and is ranked in the top 20 of over 25,000 travel agencies in the United States, according to the Business Travel Survey in Business Travel News. Fox World Travel owns and operates 11 retail travel locations throughout Wisconsin as well as Premier Meetings and Incentives in Oshkosh and Fox World Travel School Online. Visit Fox World Travel online at http://www.GoFox.com.

Corporate Headquarters 2150 S Washburn Street P.O. Box 2386 Oshkosh, WI 54903-2386 Phone: 920-236-8000 Fax:920-236-8050 Website: http://www.gofox.com

Contact:Brian Hurley, Vice President-Vacation Travel Fox World Travel (920) 236-8000 bhurley(at)gofox(dot)com

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Company: Fox World Travel Contact: Brian Hurley Phone: 920-236-8000 Email: bhurley(at)gofox(dot)com

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Fox World Travel Offers 2015 Badger Bowl Vacation Packages

Travel Awards: Vancouver named world's 2nd best city to visit

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The skyline of Vancouver, as seen from Granville Street bridge.

image credit: Wikimedia Commons (author FlickrLickr)

Vancouver was named the second-best travel destination in the world by readers of British newspaper the Telegraph, in the publication's 2014 Travel Awards.

The winners over several categories, including best Rail Operator, best Airlines, and others were compiled from the votes of some 90,000 people and the award's ceremony was held in London, England.

Cape Town, South Africa was voted the world's top travel city, and New Zealand its top country. TrailFinders, an English travel company, was named the world's top tour operator a nice thing to know if you're in any of their chosen destinations.

In September, the Telegraph published its travel guide for Vancouver, and said it was "poised to become the world's greenest city".

It also identified the Pacific Rim and The Loden as the two hotels to stay in, and recommended both the Grouse Grind and a day-trip to Victoria as worthwhile activities.

The Telegraph's Rachel Dove also recommended restaurants Wildebeest, The Parker, Blue Water Cafe, Hawksworth, and Medina as desirable foodie attractions.

And in November, British personality Steve Backshall raved about Vancouver to Telegraph reporter Nick McGrath:

"Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and offers easy escapes to incredibly wild places. The North Shore has one of the world's best mountain biking areas about half an hour from the city centre and the Whistler ski resort is also nearby. You can go across to Vancouver Island, which is great for spotting orcas and bears. It's a stunning city. My sister has lived there for about four years, so I visit her a lot. I've also been there filming wildlife in the surrounding area. I'm not a city person, but if I had to live in a city, this is the one I'd choose."

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Travel Awards: Vancouver named world's 2nd best city to visit


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